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Spring 2006 |
Bet Tzedek Website | Contact Us | Volunteer | Donate Online By Sandor Samuels, BT Board President 2006-2007 Whom do you call if you are elderly and someone is trying to evict you from your apartment or your house?
Whom do you call if you are a holocaust survivor and are being denied your rightful reparations?
Whom do you call if you need to care for an abandoned grandchild or niece or nephew? Whom do you call if you live in a nursing home and are being denied appropriate care or treatment? The answer to these and other legal problems afflicting the poor and the elderly in our community is a resounding BET TZEDEK. I’m proud to be the President of the Board of Directors of such an organization. I’m especially proud of Bet Tzedek Shabbat, a new outreach campaign that we conducted on March 17th and 18th.
This is what we do at Bet Tzedek: try to help all who come to us. On Bet Tzedek Shabbat, nearly 10,000 congregants heard our call for more volunteers. And you, too, can be part of Bet Tzedek. Please display the same attributes of compassion, kindness and mercy by volunteering your time to help further Bet Tzedek’s mission. Read more about our work in this e-newsletter and on our website. Then call Bet Tzedek’s Volunteer Coordinator, Robin Sommerstein, at 323-549-5814 or email her at rsommerstein@bettzedek.org to get involved. Thanks to the following synagogues and churches for participating in Bet Tzedek Shabbat:
Interested in helping, but don't have the time?
Guillermo Martinez (name changed to protect client privacy) thought his job meant a chance to improve the lives of his mother and sisters in Guatemala. He didn’t realize that he would be physically abused and financially exploited. Fortunately for Guillermo, Bet Tzedek’s Employment Rights Project (ERP) exists. Becky Monroe, ERP Attorney, and Matthew DeCarolis, a Social Justice Fellow in our Valley office, took Guillermo’s case and recently won a $44,000 judgment for him. Guillermo is a slight young man of 5’5”. When he was hired, he was promised between two and six cents per clothing piece he completed. After a year on the job, Guillermo mustered the courage to question whether he was being credited with all of the pieces on which he labored. The floor manager’s response? To physically assault Guillermo and push him to the floor. Guillermo had to go to the hospital, and one year later, still receives treatments for his injury.
Guillermo then came to Bet Tzedek for help in getting his owed wages. Each week, he earned an average of $230, averaging out to less than $3.50 per hour. Based upon the California minimum wage and overtime rules, Guillermo’s work week should have earned him nearly $600 per week. The Hearing Officer at the Labor Commissioner's office conducted a hearing and reviewed all the evidence we presented. On cross-examination, the factory owner presented her defense: "If I paid minimum wage, then I could not make a profit." In mid-March, Guillermo received the Hearing Officer's decision: Guillermo is entitled to receive $44,000, covering all wages and breaks claimed plus applicable penalties. The owner has been put on notice that she must comply with minimum wage laws or face exposure to other wage claims like Guillermo's. Bet Tzedek helps people like Guillermo every day, because of contributions from donors like YOU.
Bet Tzedek Fights Slum Housing
On Saturday, March 4, 2006, Bet Tzedek convened advocates, academics and policy makers for a symposium at UCLA Law School to discuss our innovative “Receivership Project.” More than 40 participants spent an entire day focused on ways to use the legal mechanism of health and safety receiverships to achieve three goals:
The mechanics of receivership are relatively complicated, but the process results in desperately needed housing for working families in Los Angeles. Affordable housing is in short supply in L.A.: One in four families spend over 50% of their income on rent. Without significant efforts to repair older buildings, the stock of affordable housing will drop further.
It was that exciting possibility that drew such a distinguished group of participants (list of participants >>) to the symposium. Bet Tzedek’s Elissa Barrett, the Sydney M. Irmas Housing Conditions Project Director, said, “The day’s greatest success was that Bet Tzedek gathered together a wide variety of community stakeholders to coordinate efforts to solve the problem of slum housing in Los Angeles. We all heard a clear message: To combat the housing crisis, cooperation and collaboration between City agencies and community-based organizations is essential. Based on that issue alone, the Symposium was a huge step in the right direction.” Symposium participants included a number of noted academics and city attorneys from around the country. “All of us in the Los Angeles community benefited from hearing of other cities’ experiences. While Los Angeles is a unique city in many ways, our project will build upon successful models from places like Baltimore and Cleveland,” said Michelle Williams Court, Bet Tzedek’s Director of Litigation.
As with all of Bet Tzedek’s projects, volunteers are a key part of our service. The pro bono support of the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP (including Bet Tzedek Board member Scott Edelman) is vital to the project, as are the contributions of Bet Tzedek Board members David Pasternak and Sandor E. Samuels. The Los Angeles Housing Department and UCLA Public Interest Law Program co-sponsored the Symposium. In addition, the L.A. Housing Department has provided a grant to Bet Tzedek to support the pilot stages of the Receivership Project. You can get involved in this innovative effort to improve L.A.’s housing supply. Bet Tzedek is recruiting volunteer attorneys, real estate professionals, construction specialists and financial institutions to participate in the Receivership Project. For more information, contact Elissa Barrett at 323-549-5810 or ebarrett@bettzedek.org. The Receivership Project is possible because of donors like you.
German Law Graduate Helps Holocaust Survivors
Growing up behind the Berlin Wall in East Germany, Michael Baumgarten never dreamed that he one day would live in Los Angeles and work for justice for Holocaust survivors. Thanks to Bet Tzedek’s website, Michael finds himself playing a critical role in fighting for reparations for survivors. Michael, a law school graduate from Saxony, Germany, was conducting an online search for practical legal experience when he came across Bet Tzedek’s website, www.bettzedek.org. “I saw that Bet Tzedek did good work for people who needed help, and I wanted to participate,” Michael said. Two months later, he arrived in Los Angeles. Michael’s arrival filled a pressing gap in Bet Tzedek’s services. For years, Bet Tzedek relied upon volunteer translators to help with its efforts in the German bureaucracy and court system. Michael’s presence changes the speed and efficiency with which Bet Tzedek can help survivors, and makes our work more effective.
Michael works closely with Mark Rothman, Bet Tzedek’s Holocaust Reparations Advocate, and Wendy Marantz Levine, our Deputy Director of Litigation. “Michael is immensely helpful, both as an immediate translator and as someone who understands the complexity of German law,” Mark said. “As a law school graduate with several years of experience in Germany, Michael brings a nuanced understanding of the German law and social agencies that is invaluable in many cases.” Michael’s most important project is his analysis of every case filed under the ZRBG law, which was intended to provide pensions for ghetto laborers during World War II. So far, the German government has denied 94% of applicants for ZRBG. Michael is creating a fact template of the successful applications to determine if the administration has been fair or random. If the results show a random pattern of approvals, Bet Tzedek may be able to challenge denials as a violation of German constitutional law. Michael hasn’t been completely focused on legal matters. He took advantage of his time in the U.S. by touring the western states with his family. For two weeks, they drove through seven states and national parks. Seeing America’s natural (The Grand Canyon)and artificial wonders (Las Vegas) was a dream come true for Michael. “Growing up in Germany, you don’t think of these things. Now I am here, and it is wonderful.” More about Bet Tzedek's Holocaust Reparations Program >> Volunteers like Michael help us fight for justice. Want to help but don't have the time?
The Justice Ball X on Saturday, July 8th!
The summer's best party returns! The Justice Ball X hits the Hollywood Palladium on Saturday, July 8th. Incredible music, dancing and carousing all with more than 3,000 partygoers. Visit www.thejusticeball.org to buy your tickets.
Bet Tzedek Earns Highest Rating for Fiscal Management
Bet Tzedek earned the four-star rating because of its impressive financial growth and a very high percentage of donations spent on direct services. In 2005, our efficient use of monetary donations and volunteer time meant that over 89% of every dollar went towards programmatic services. Bet Tzedek spends less than 4% of its revenues on fundraising, a remarkably low figure. Read the letter of commendation from Charity Navigator >> Support one of Los Angeles' top rated non-profits.
18th Annual Dinner Gala Raises $2.2 Million for Bet Tzedek
Ric Kayne accepted the Luis Lainer Founder’s Award, and the law firm of Irell & Manella and Bet Tzedek Board member Jim Adler both received the Rose L. Schiff Commitment to Justice Award. Several moving speeches highlighted the evening, capped by a video retrospective of Bet Tzedek’s work over the past year. See pictures from the Dinner >> The dinner is over, but it's NEVER too late to donate to Bet Tzedek.
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On March 17th and 18th, Bet Tzedek’s message was delivered in congregations all across the southland. Rabbis and members of Bet Tzedek’s Board of Directors delivered a drash – a sermon – for Parshat Ki Tisa, the portion containing the thirteen attributes of God. These attributes include compassion, kindness and mercy. The message is simple yet powerful: All who are in need, come and we will try to help. 
It reads like a scene from a Dickens novel: A 17-year-old sews labels on clothes for 70 hours a week, without lunch or rest breaks, earning three cents for each piece he completes. The year? 2006. The place? Downtown Los Angeles. 
Symposium First Step in Receivership Project Campaign
Bet Tzedek used health and safety receiverships in the late 1990s to preserve over 30 affordable units in a 125-unit building on the edge of downtown’s Garment District. With hundreds of slums as possible candidates for receivership, the Project has the potential to dramatically increase the supply of safe, affordable housing in the City. 
For 32 years, Bet Tzedek has gone anywhere for its clients. Thanks to our website, Bet Tzedek now goes everywhere to find its volunteers.
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On January 26th, Bet Tzedek’s 18th Annual Dinner Gala raised more than $2.2 million towards our mission of “equal justice for all.” The Gala is Bet Tzedek’s opportunity to showcase our services for more than 1,250 of our supporters. We thank our honorees, our contributors, and everyone who attended. 
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